D 

C.370 

1318 



For 

FP^TiCE 

ATiD THE 

FAITH 



ALFRED 

EVGEl^E 

CASAUS 




FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 



FOR FRANCE 
AND THE FAITH 

Letters of Alfred Eugene Casalis 



Translated by 
WARREN EDWIN BRISTOL 

Introduction by 
JOHN R. MOTT 



ABBortattott l^rtBB 

124 East 28th Street, New York 
1018 



ilU40 



Copyright, 1917, by 
Warren Edwin Bristol 







CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Introduction . . . John R. Mott vii 

Foreword ix 

I. Before the Call i 

II. At the Barracks 9 

III. At the Front 47 

IV. On the Field of Honor . ,., • 93 



INTRODUCTION 

In the vast literature associated with the 
War, some of the pages of most priceless value 
are those which reveal the attitude of mind 
and heart of young men seeking to bring to 
bear their religious principles and faith upon 
the new and searching tests of the moral and 
physical battlefield of modem warfare — tests 
which try men's souls by fire. 

These letters of the noble French soldier 
have served to preserve the ideals and 
strengthen the faith of young men in the army 
of France. The English edition has helped 
many a soldier of Britain to live his life and to 
fight his battle on the higher levels, and, if 
need be, to die a truly triumphant death. We 
welcome this American edition. May these 
simple records of self-revelation, self-disci- 
pline, and self-devotion help American young 
men likewise to stand fast in the faith, to quit 
themselves like men, and to be strong. 

John R. Mott. 

September i, 1917. 



FOREWORD 

" They loved not their lives unto the death" 
— Revelation 12 : 11. 

This is not a biography. It is only a mosaic 
of fragments of letters written to his relatives 
and intimate friends from barrack-rooms and 
the front by a very young soldier who fell on 
the field of honor at nineteen years of age. We 
had gathered them and arranged them for his 
family. 

Numerous friends having expressed a desire 
to see them, they are published, notwithstand- 
ing their personal and familiar character, in the 
hope that those who read them will be strength- 
ened in seeing how, while serving France, this 
young soldier wished also to serve Jesus Christ 
and, wearing the horizon-blue uniform of the 
armies of the Republic, pursued to the end his 
" Marche a V Etoile." 



I 

BEFORE THE CALL 



FOR FRANCE AND 
THE FAITH 



BEFORE THE CALL 

Alfred Eugene Casalis was born on Feb- 
ruary 24th, 1896, at Morija, Basutoland, South 
Africa, where his parents were missionaries. 
From his earhest childhood he declared his firm 
intention of following the career of his father 
and grandfather. This early decision, from 
which he never turned aside during the course 
of his classical studies, led him to enter the 
theological seminary of Montauban. He had 
just commenced his second year there when the 
course of events turned his thoughts toward 
other horizons and imposed upon him other 
duties. 

Montauban, November 5, 1914. 
Everything is extraordinarily calm here, the 
people, the city, the plants, and even the ani- 



4 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

mals. Everywhere there are soldiers. It is 
the one fact that attracts our attention. 

One feels far, very far, from the v^ar — as 
if it were taking place somewhere in time and 
in space, and we had no part in it here. 

But it must not be. One must react against 
this feeling. It is necessary to feel that if they 
are fighting and struggling and suffering and 
dying, it is for us, and that that fact creates for 
us certain duties ; the duty to think of them, to 
work in order to make the Patrie which they 
are defending great and beautiful, and to pray 
for them if one has the faith. 

And then perhaps our hour will come also. 
And while waiting until that hour strikes it is 
necessary to meditate; to open our eyes to the 
fact of death; to learn how to live with it at 
our elbows, in order that its coming may not 
surprise us ; to prepare ourselves to receive it as 
a distinguished guest who will lead us toward 
life. 

And then again, one must search to discover 
if he can fight — if he has a heart sufficiently 
free from hatred to be able to fight without ani- 
mosity; if he has a heart vibrating enough with 
love to fight for others and not merely " to save 
his own skin"; if he is quite decided to be a 



BEFORE THE CALL 5 

champion of right, of justice, and of liberty; 
if he loves sufficiently the justice which will he 
brought about afterwards to fight with the cer- 
tainty that our victory will give one more good 
workman to the task of world-wide regenera- 
tion. Then, too, it is necessary to be on the 
watch — on the watch for the least suffering 
which surrounds us, in order to relieve it; on 
the watch for the least injustice within our 
reach, in order to crush it ; on the watch for all 
justice which points upward, in order to go to 
its aid and make it triumph. That is our 
" Veillee d' amies," and our watchword is 
"" Christ and France." 

November i6th. 
Since the beginning of the war I have been 
thinking with infinite gratitude of all those who 
went to fight in order that we might remain in 
security and in peace. I was meditating espe- 
cially about Paul ^ and those who were attached 
to hi'm by his vision of social justice and by the 
common desire to deliver humanity from war. 
I was thinking with admiration of all the paci- 
fists who, by a painful effort, had succeeded m 



^His cousin, M. Paul Reuss, who fell on the field 



of honor Sept. 26, 1914. 



6 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

harmonizing tjieir ideal of peace with the neces- 
sity of fighting. 

He himself will not see the triumph, he will 
have known only the sacrifice. But we who 
remain, who are now the " Young France," we 
take an oath over these freshly rounded graves 
to take up the work of our elders. May they 
rest in peace. Our life from now on is con- 
secrated to their ideal, which has become our 
own. And with the aid of God, we will make 
their ideal victorious. 

November 21st. 

My room continues to be the same delightful 
retreat where I feel so happy. The lamp sheds 
a circle of light upon all that immediately sur- 
rounds me, and at a little greater distance every- 
thing rests in the penumbra, except the hearth 
where my fire crackles. Upon the table before 
me I have all my books, written and read also, 
for the most part, in so much enthusiasm and 
love. And then you are there, you and father, 
beneath a bouquet of chrysanthemums. 

Since I left Paris I have not felt so much at 
peace as this evening. I was asking myself 
what we would become, if we were called up, 
we of the classe of 191 6. 



BEFORE THE CALL 7 

But now my mind is at rest ; we are going to 
be called before the conseil de revision. All 
that remains is to await the hour and while 
waiting to prepare one's self. 



II 

AT THE BARRACKS 



II 

AT THE BARRACKS 

In the month of January, after having passed 
the Christmas hoHdays with his family at Paris, 
he presented himself before the conseil de revi- 
sion, and, not waiting until his class (1916) 
would be called, enlisted as a volunteer for the 
duration of the war. 

Montauban, January 7, 191 5. 
... I am a soldier of my own free will, and 
not because of a whim, either. What else 
could be done ? It is all very well to be a paci- 
fist, but under some circumstances nothing can 
hold one back. To begin with, when one sees 
what atrocities our enemies are committing, 
one understands that it is necessary to put a 
stop to them as quickly as possible, and, if one 
can be of any aid, he must get into the game. 
And then when one knows that there are those 
who shirk their duty, who are ambuscading, it 
is impossible to resist ; one must be off. 
11 



12 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

And yet you know how contrary this is to 
my nature, to my ideals, and to my vocation. 
You know how it has been my desire to be of 
service and that I have only one ambition; to 
take a message of sympathy, of hope, and of 
love to those who suffer, as did the Master 
whom I love and wish to serve. 

And so here I am at the barracks ! 

Castdsarrasin, January 15th. 

Immediately upon my arrival at Montauban 
I enrolled with the nth Infantry. On Wed- 
nesday, the 6th, at 9 :oo a. m. I went to the bar- 
racks. An hour later I had become one of the 
most hideous looking infantrymen of France 
and Navarre. 

In the first place, hair clipped short like that 
of a criminal; then I am clad in a uniform as 
dirty as a uniform could be. The overcoat 
{capote), ripped in many places, has a large 
round burn in the lower part of the back ; either 
caused by a bursting shell, or by its former 
owner having sat down upon a lighted ciga- 
rette ! - Moreover, in said capote there is room 

enough for M by my side The coat on 

the other hand is too small for me, and the 
sleeves — too short — have been darned and 



AT THE BARRACKS 13 

resewed, one with white thread, the other with 
red. Then, too, the trousers also too short evi- 
dently have caught all the grease of all the mess 
pans of the squad. • 

I might add here that I have not shaved for 
eight days ! So far as toilette is concerned all 
one can do is to keep clean. Apart from all 
this, I look sweet enough to eat ! 

My outfit once completed, I was notified that 
they would send me to Castelsarrasin where 
the entire 1915 class of the nth Infantry, to 
which I am assigned, is receiving instruction. 

Thursday morning I had my knapsack, mess- 
pan, blanket, rifle, cartridge box, etc. In short, 
I was ready to leave. But I did not leave then, 
nor Friday. Saturday I was trying to be over- 
looked so that I should not leave until Monday, 
and would be able to pass Sunday at Mon- 
tauban. 

Unhappily at noon the sergeant jumped on 
me and had me equip myself as quickly as pos- 
sible with entire outfit. I went down into the 
barracks square and left with four other bleus 
Xraw recruits). 

1 am quartered in a schoolroom where we are 
on!y twenty-five. It is warm here and we 
sleep well. For exercise they make us hum, 



14 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

" harder '' — using the favorite expression of 
the adjutant. I am getting along very well and 
the life is benefiting me. L 

Alas, here my letter desinit in piscem. 
There is roll-call at 8:15 and now it is 8:05. 
In order to reach the barracks I have still to 
cross the city, for I am writing in a cafe where 
they have loaned me a dirty table, a broken 
pen, and muddy ink, in a room where sixty 
soldiers are reading, shouting, and playing. 
So please excuse paper, penmanship, style, and 
the absence of ideas. 

January 17th. 

We have just been inoculated against ty- 
phoid. There were about 1,500 of us, all the 
hleus of the nth. The injection did not hurt 
especially, but at eight o'clock in the evening 
my arm commenced to get numb. All night 
long I had fever with a violent headache, which 
gradually passed away. Now only the spot 
where the injection was made is at all painful, 
so you see all is going well. 

There is nothing harder than getting to sleep 
in our room. Of the fifty poiliis who are quar- 
tered here, there are about twenty peasants 
from Correze, all lodged in the same corner of 



AT THE BARRACKS 15 

the barn. Disappointed in having to retire and 
being no longer able to dance " La Bourree/' 
they are whistling it with all their might. On 
my side there are some men from Bordeaux, 
who, being naturally full of fire, will not allow 
themselves to be outdone by the Correziens 
with whom they are great rivals. You can 
imagine the chances for rest! Finally along 
about ten-thirty silence reigns. Not for long, 
however, for no sooner are they asleep than 
they begin to snore, the Bordelais as loud as the 
Correziens. 

Sunday we were confined to barracks because 
several cases of measles had been discovered. 
Up to ten o'clock we did nothing, then we had 
la soiipe, after which I strolled along the Mois- 
sac road and watched an uninteresting game of 
football. At four o'clock I entered the church 
to attend vespers. The organ was good and 
the organist very skilful. Then again mess, 
and I am writing to you and reading a little 
before going to bed. 

I have been definitely assigned to the 9th 
squad. The Quartermaster sergeant gave me 
a mattress cover and a pillow slip, saying, *' I 
have no straw, hustle around and find some.'' 
I wandered around the farms in the neighbor- 



16 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

hood and finally found something with which 
to stuff the mattress, but not without some diffi- 
culty. 

I am somewhat acquainted with my corporal, 
as he is from Montauban and, though a Cath- 
olic, used to attend the Christian Student Fed- 
eration meetings. 

I have become a member of the Corporals* 
Training Squad. There are 104 of us and 
only twenty-six corporals are needed. Natu- 
rally, in order to make the necessary selection 
they give us plenty of work. 

How one feels the need of meditation after 
some time of barrack life ! Here one lets go of 
himself to such an extent and becomes accus- 
tomed to living outside of any real communion 
with the Master, to praying with words and 
formulas only. Oh, that those who can, who 
have the leisure and strength might pray for 
those who can not! 

Montauban, February 12th. 
I have just passed fifteen days at the hospital 
with the measles. After six days of high fever 
I gradually became better and have rapidly re- 
gained my strength, not having had any com- 
plications. 



AT THE BARRACKS 17 

Friday, the fifth, I left the hospital. I was 
still quite weak, but that was all. When I ar- 
rived here I was exhausted, done up completely, 
weighing only fifty-five kilos, with sore eyes 
and the beginning of bronchitis besides. And 
I have only eight days in which to get rid of all 
and be ready to regain my post. 

I have seen the doctor, who ordered rest, not 
to go out before ten o'clock in the morning, nor 
after sunset. I am a very good little boy and 
obey his orders scrupulously. As a matter of 
fact, I am endeavoring to reenter the ranks as 
soon as possible in order to leave with the 
others. It seems that we shall leave for the 
front between the first and the twentieth of 
March. I say the front ; in reality it is almost 
certain that they will take us somewhere into 
the army zone to complete our preparation 
there. 

Some people have thought that after the dis- 
agreeable experiences which I underwent at the 
barracks, I must regret very much having en- 
listed! I have sent word to them that if it 
were to be done over I would do it again and 
with more enthusiasm than the first time. I 
only wish that I might have told them so my- 
self. 



18 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

I am happy and at peace, because I know 
that He is there and watches over all His own. 

Castelsarrasin, February 13th. 
Many thanks for the package. I appreciate 
your choice of books very much.^ I have cir- 
culated them somewhat. My less fortunate 
pals are delighted with them; they didn't be- 
lieve such good literature existed and are simply 
devouring it. 

February 19th. 
This morning, weather clear and pleasant — 
what luck for my first outing since leaving the 
hospital! We started off without knapsacks. 
It was delightful to swing along the road in the 
fresh morning air. I was in fine trim and re- 
joiced in the physical exercise. We marched 
rapidly and, in the still air, only one step could 
be heard. I was glad to have found my place 
again and not to be any longer on the shelf- 
We are beginning to work with a snap. 

February 20th. 
Today I received some news which troubles 



1 Especially certain pamphlets of the " Petite anthoU 
ogie litteraire idealiste pour les jeunes." 



AT THE BARRACKS 19 

me a great deal, and before arriving at any 
decision I wish to speak with you about it. 

A competitive examination for entrance to 
the reserve officers' training camp is going to be 
held among the volunteers and the soldiers 
called up of the class 191 6. Those who are 
accepted will be assigned to a special instruction 
camp, where they will be trained to become re- 
serve officers. Those who will have done their 
work well will leave with the grade of aspirant, 
and later (at the front) will be nominated 
second lieutenants, evidently an especially great 
advantage, for the remainder of the service. 

But all that means a delay of at least four 
months before leaving for the front. Now I 
ask myself if accepting this delay would not 
be cowardice on my part. My comrades will 
be leaving for the front within a month, no 
doubt. And should I be remaining behind un- 
der shelter? I would be leaving only after the 
hardest work (the driving of the enemy out of 
the trenches) will probably have been accom- 
plished ! And then is it not my duty to remain 
with these comrades in order to help them ? - 

This question troubles me a great deal. 
Pray that I may see my duty clearly and that 
I may have the strength to discharge it faith- 



20 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

fully; either to stick humbly to my post or to 
'vork hard, should I pass the examination. 

February 25th. 

I wish to tell you at once where I stand. I 
was very much concerned about the subject of 
the examination for student officers of the re- 
serve, alternating between " yes " and *' no " 
and not seeing my way at all clearly, when 
Monday morning an unforeseen event drew 
me from my embarrassment. It happened at 
roll-call that morning that the lieutenant asked 
the company for fifty volunteers to leave for 
the front. It was no longer possible to hesi- 
tate. I saw my duty and immediately gave in 
my name. 

These volunteers will probably leave Castel 
thij week. They will be quartered a certain 
length of time at Montauban, no doubt, where 
their preparation will be hastened. Then they 
will be sent into the second line at the front, 
and April istthey will be in the trenches; at 
least that is what they tell us. Naturally I 
volunteered. It will only mean a little harder 
training for some time and when we do 



AT THE BARRACKS 21 

have to go, I shall certainly be in perfect 
trim. 

Mother dear, I beg of you not to be con- 
cerned about me. I have already thought of 
this possibility for a long time and truly, I 
could not do otherzvise than offer myself. Our 
Father who is good certainly can protect His 
child. 

F'ebruary 28th. 
They are working us to the limit, and reallyi 
I commence to feel that we are soldiers and 
capable of doing something. 

Friday evening, we had a night march and 
drill. At 7:10 we assembled in absolute 
silence, with full outfit. At 7 125 we departed. 
It was cool and we marched rapidly. At 8 115, 
halt ; the weather was clear, the sky a very light 
blue with a pale gray horizon, and the leafless 
trees were very striking in the magnificent 
moonlight. We formed small groups, stacked 
arms, and seated ourselves, talking under our 
breath. The scene called to mind Detaille's 
" Le Reve.'' We set off again. At that mo- 
ment the moon was surrounded by a marvelous 
halo, the most beautiful I have ever seen; it 
was so large that the Great Dipper would go in 
it almost twice over. 



22 ^ FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

" Soon they had us halt again and divided us 
into sections, each having to post sentinels and 
organize its guard service. I v^as on sentinel 
duty for tv^enty minutes on the border of a 
little v^ood. . . . Soon we returned at a fast 
pace and we arrived at the barracks at 1 1 :oo 
p. M. Yesterday afternoon I underwent my 
last inoculation against typhoid. The others 
did not amount to much, but this one gave me a 
violent fever and my arm hurts me up to the 
shoulder, which is swollen. I hope there will 
be no complications. 

March ist. 
I believe I have all the tough luck ! Not feel- 
ing very well, I went to see the doctor this 
morning. He said that I had the beginning 
of an abscess caused by the vaccination and 
now here I am in the hospital. I suffer a great 
deal. 

March 2nd. 
This beastly abscess did not develop and after 
all was not serious. I again feel quite well and 
tomorrow I return to my proper place — which 
I wish I had never left — to shoulder again my 
gun and knapsack and return to drill. Hip! 
Hip! Hurrah! 



AT THE BARRACKS 2S 

March 3rd. 

Would you believe it? The doctor would 
not accept me as a volunteer. Thursday after- 
noon we all had a medical examination and a 
third were rejected. I no longer cough at all, 
but it seems that a touch of bronchitis remains 
from my measles. Eighteen of us have been 
left out (laisses en panne). 

. . . The examination was severe because 
these volunteers are intended for a corps d' elite, 
especially trained and prepared. You can 
imagine how badly I felt to have to stay behind. 
After all one must learn to accept the inevitable 
and to accept it joyously, especially "because 
there are so many watching us. 

The thought which has permitted me to re- 
main here quietly, I was going to say almost 
joyfully, is that I am going to be with these 
young men whom I know now and who knov^ 
me and who know vaguely whence I draw the 
little strength I have. 

If you only knew how much better I now 
understand the human soul, especially the soul 
of these humble people who toil, who struggle, 
who suffer, who are holding on to life only by 
a thread — some bits of affection, a little in- 
terest, few pleasures, and above all many habits. . 



24 ,FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

Ah, yes, often I regret that instinctive aloof- 
ness of earlier days. 

There are such riches when one can plunge 
to the depth of these souls ! I have learned to 
love them and now I am trying to speak to 
them. Oh, this faith which I felt at certain 
hours so luminous, so profound — oh, how dry 
and scholastic it has appeared to me, made up 
of subtle word distinctions, when I have had to 
speak to these simple people who understand 
only life, who never have heard people speak of 
idealism, nor of the spirit, nor of matter, but 
who merely live and suffer. There have been 
moments when I have asked myself if there 
should not be one religion for the people and 
another for the intellectuels, and, consequently, 
also two distinct moral laws. But no, I feel 
that it cannot be, I know that it cannot be, and 
I recall the words of the Apostle: Christ is 
^' the same yesterday, and today and forever.'* 
And was he not Himself a carpenter? And 
did he not say, " Blessed are the poor in 
spirit"? 

These are some of the pangs that pierce my 
heart. They are true; they are real. In my 
faith there are many beliefs that are more or 
less vital ; many hopes that play harmoniously 



AT THE BARRACKS 25 

in my life only because I am at heart an idealist 
in the philosophic sense of the term. Without 
this idealism great chasms would be dug in my 
faith. But I know, with an unchangeable 
knowledge and invincible confidence, that the 
basis of my faith — God as Father, Christ risen 
and living, man subjected to the law of the duty 
to love — is indestructible, that it is firmly 
founded tipon the rock. 

So far as the rest is concerned, then, what 
does it matter ? Little by little all will become 
clear and luminous. If I must renounce such 
and such an axiom, I will renounce it ; I will cut 
away until I have reached zvhat life really is 
and that alone I am searching: first, in order to 
live and then in order to help others to live. 

* We students, intellectuels, we allow ourselves 
too easily to become absorbed in our '' culture." 
We assimilate it to the point of becoming it. 
And in doing so we make a great mistake. We 
must always remember that it is only a way of 
looking at things and seek to preserve carefully 
and religiously what can be our point of contact 
with other souls. 

' And I mean by that not only a moral, or 
strxtly speaking a religious or Christian point 
of contact, but also an intellectual point of con- 



26 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

tact, the angle, by which we are able to penetrate 
their lives, to become like them, to become one 
of them as Jesus did. 

I am writing you just as the words come to 
me. These facts are. old and often restated, 
but experiencing them at every moment gives 
them an immense value and one which I regret 
not to be able to translate better. 

Before the end of the month, perhaps, I 
shall have left for the front. In my heart I 
have been meditating over these things. There 
is also and always that peace which passes all 
understanding and which He has given us. 

March 5th. 
Now here I am with the mumps ! Thursday 
morning my abscess had disappeared but the 
left side of my face commenced to swell. I 
made up my bundle and in the afternoon moved 
to the general hospital. It is a former convent 
where I sleep in an antique wooden four-poster. 
We are cared for by a good old sister who is 
simply charming. Friday my cheek was enor- 
mous, so large that I could see it without 
squinting. But I haven't had fever for an 
instant and am not suffering. One thing 
pleases me especially, I have not been weak- 



AT THE BARRACKS 27 

ened in the least. I have a voracious appetite 
— but they have given me only magnesia ! 

Mr. Louis Lafon very kindly came to see me 
and brought me some chocolate, books, and 
writing material. I truly hope that this will 
not last long. 

March 7th. 

Am passing a sad Sunday — the saddest of 
all my hospital Sundays. But one thing makes 
it easier for me to endure — the certainty that 
as soon as I shall be able to leave the physician 
will turn me out. And then, no doubt, I shall 
have, as the others do, six days' leave, which 
I shall spend at home — that is, on condition 
that you wish me ! Write me quickly. But it 
is only a hope. ^ 

On March nth, as a matter of fact, our dear 
soldier lad arrived at Paris and spent four days 
with tis. He had quite regained his strength 
and gaiety. In the evening of Sunday the 14th, 
he left for his depot. Without knozving it, we 
had hidden him adieu forever on this earth.^ 

Castclsarrasin, March 15th. 
' Leaving home was difficult, but, at the last 



2 All paragraphs in italics are from the pen of the 
young soldier's father, M. A. Casalis. 



28 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

moment, father and mother were so calm, so 
confident, that all became easy and one might 
have looked upon it as a customary parting. 
Especially when we had all prayed together 
everything became clear, and we had the abso- 
lute certainty that it was only a temporary au 
revoir, since we are awaited. 

Here I am this morning again, back at the 
barracks. I feel marvellously well, full of en- 
thusiasm, of hope, and of confidence. This 
afternoon, we did a little march of fifteen kilo- 
meters in a blistering sun and in the dust ; every- 
thing went along all right. For more than a 
year I have not felt in such good physical con- 
dition and such good spirits. 

March i6th. 

... In short ^ the true virtue of the Chris- 
tian soldier is steadfastness: " Hold fast that 
wliich thou hast." Unfortunately that cannot 
be learned in a few days' preparation : it is the 
lesson of a life-time and one that is never well 
enough understood. 

In the regiment the most essential thing is 

3 Extract from a letter written for Notre Revue, the 
journal of the Lyccens Chretiens. 



AT THE BARRACKS 29 

not to allow oneself to become brutalized. The 
mind has too great a tendency to become be- 
fouled; it is necessary to keep incessantly on 
the alert, and to that end one must prepare in 
advance, before leaving, a series of subjects to 
study, which will furnish food for meditation 
during the hours of marching or inactivity. 

' Some of the most painful hours of regiment 
life are spent on the march. Then it is that the 
coarseness of the m.en comes to light most for- 
cibly and in the form of the vilest songs. They 
are so disgusting one guards silence. But a 
moment comes when even the most calloused 
have had enough — that is the opportunity 
which must be seized to strike up a clean, at- 
tractive, healthful song, and we do not lack 
that kind. Since in the barracks one is rubbing 
shoulders with the least agreeable things of life, 
characters are soon shown up as they really 
are. One must immediately take a positive 
attitude to show what he is : a Christian. Then 
to hold on. If one has fallen in with a bad 
crowd, he can clear himself by keeping apart 
from the others, but never forget the command 
of our Master, " Love one another," translated 
more especially in this case by the motto of the 



so FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

Boy Scouts, *' Render service at all times." By 
this attitude you make others respect you and 
it is the surest way to their hearts. 

March 17th. 

We do not remain here much longer. The 
hour of departure is very near. In a fortnight 
we probably shall be at the front. 

I shall leave calmly and w^ith confidence. I 
shall fight w^ith a good conscience and v^ithout 
fear, I hope ; without hate, surely ; because I be- 
lieve our cause is just, because France vic- 
torious will have a mission to fulfil, a mission 
of civilizing and educating mankind for a 
greater solidarity. I believe that because I 
have, for my part, accepted such a vocation and 
because I know many who have made it theirs. 

I feel filled with unbounded hope which 
shows me beyond death the beginning of a re- 
newed and magnificent life. 

March 21st. 

I know a little soldier who would have liked 
to write you for Sunday, but who did not have 
the time and regrets it very much. 

Just think, yesterday morning wewere awak- 
ened at 5 :2o and the sergeant shouted to us 



AT THE BARRACKS 31 

*'In full uniform." As I was en corvee, I 
slipped into red trousers, coat, and kepi and 
hurried to the kitchen. Returning, I put on my 
shoes and gaiters and made my bed. 

The sergeant enters : " All in undress." I 
had to jump, change at fourth speed, and on 
the run equip myself with knapsack, gun, etc. 

Scarcely ready when the sergeant returns: 
" Throw off your outfit and carry your bedding 
down into the courtyard." We threw off our 
outfit, carried our bedding down, then climbed 
the staircase four steps at a time, equipped our- 
selves, reassembled, and here we are off for 
Cordes. 

In the freshness of the morning under the 
clear sky we marched fast. After the climb 
came a feed, then target practice. We came 
back rapidly in the heat of the day; the knap- 
sack was heavy and the feet sore, but we were 
glad to get back. 

When, lo and behold, from the door of the 
barracks we saw all our bedding out in the sun, 
forgotten. ^ After going up to throw off our 
things, we went down into the court after the 
mattresses, etc. As some are ill, there is other 
bedding to carry up besides one's own. That 
done, without having had time even to change 



32 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

our shoes we ran to get tea and later la soiipe^ 
for it was six o'clock. 

^ When at last we had been able to eat and to 
scrape the mud off, we were so dead tired we 
could only crawl to the canteen for a hot drink 
and then turn in. Thus it was that I didn't 
write you your Sunday letter. 

These days I am thinking about an article 
which I owe to C. for Notre Revue, the maga- 
zine of the Lyceens Chretiens. I believe that I 
shall write about death, for I am often thinking 
about it. I am thinking of all these young 
souls, of these new lives which the war has re- 
forged and which, intent on sacrifice, have be- 
come beautiful and great. I think that I shall 
take my inspiration from these words of Jesus, 
" Father, I pray not that Thou shouldest take 
them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest 
keep them from the evil.'* But I do not know 
if I shall be able to write the article. If the 
ideas and words don't come as I wish, I shall 
write nothing. 

Do not conclude from this that I believe my- 
self about to die. No, I have more faith than 
ever in life. I realize more than in the past that 
it is necessary to live, and I wish to live. But 
nevertheless I feel ready, and death, if it should 



AT THE BARRACKS 3S 

come, will not take me by surprise. However, 
I should have liked one thing — to attend one 
more Communion service. At the same time 
I hope that we shall be far away at the front, 
by Easter. 

You have no idea of the peace in which I live. 
All those I love are near me, very near — . 

W^e are all now en service commande and 
our service is sacred. Perhaps we shall be 
called to remain alone; those who will have 
gone before will still be with us and the mem- 
ory of their effort will live. Besides they will 
be living in the light which our eyes do not yet 
behold, very near to us. And we shall be for- 
ever united in the closest of bonds when we are 
one in Him, we in Him and He in us. 

March 25th. 

We are still working very hard. Nearly 
every morning we have an hour's fencing a la 
bayonnette, and an hour's gun drill. In the 
afternoon they divide us into two squads, one 
attacking the other. We advance as skirmish- 
ers and at every fresh bound each digs a cover 
for himself. This exercise terminates with a 
bayonet charge, all shouting like demons. 

Yesterday we had target practice at Cordes. 



34, FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

Revcil at five o'clock; at 5:35 assembly in the 
courtyard, with full campaign equipment; at 
six, off. ' The weather was fine and cool, and 
marching was not difficult. It certainly is 
springtime. Along the hedges the hawthorn is 
in bloom, and here and there hang long clusters 
of clematis. Everywhere violets, daisies, and 
buttercups. The men were in good spirits and 
hummed tunes all along the way. 

We reached the practice ground about 8 130. 
From nine o'clock until noon, rifle shots fol- 
lowed one another without interruption, and 
upon a mound at 250 meters the indilTerent 
silhouettes appeared and disappeared every ten 
seconds. 

One has to fire quite fast. I almost did as 
one guy who said, " Mon lieutenant, I see 
double, and, unfortunately, I always fire at the 
second image ! " 
> About noon bugle call and we ate, scattered 
about at the foot of trees, watching the Garonne 
flow past, clear and majestic. At one o'clock, a 
whistle, shoulder knapsacks, and en route. It 
was torrid hot, the climb stiff, and the knapsack 
heavy. The first few minutes were trying, 
then one got into the stride, and the rest of the 
march went with a swing. 



AT THE BARRACKS 



35 



When I do not know what to do, on the 
march for example, or at exercise, I sing 
interieurement; I listen to the music which is 
slumbering within me. At this moment it is 
especially Beethoven who is speaking to me. 
One or two things, these days, have done me a 
particular amount of good. 



Le Menuetto de la sonate VU, de Beethoven, 




i' Andante dela sonate X, de Beethoven, 



i 



te^^s 



V S? lV kv =s^^? 



'^jl l iv'^i'^' 



et le 7"^ Prelude de Chopin-. 

J, do Ice 




You will excuse me if I do not transcribe 
them in the right key ; it is only to give you a 
general idea of what I am writing about. 

March 25th. 
The Master's call is always ringing in my 



36 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

ears, or rather in my heart, and what am I do- 
ing by way of responding to it? 

I hear the question of Pilate " Art thou the 
King?" and Jesus replying, "Thou sayest it." 
And here the Prince of Peace, the Christ-King, 
is forsaken; His words. His commands, His 
teachings are contradicted by the life of every 
day. Oh, my France, what hast thou done 
with thy King? And all Christendom and the 
Church, what have you done with your 
Saviour? He was King, King by right, King 
by birth, King by the will of God ; and His own 
have forsaken Him; He is left alone. 

But it can not be thus. He shall be King. 
The Student Volunteers have promised it. 
Francis Monod, Robert Prunier, and others, 
many others, have died thinking of the glorious 
reign which ought to come, and which is com- 
ing. Their death is a stride in the coming of 
this reign, as their life had been. 

And then the new France must arise for this : 
** To make Christ King." And to those who 
remain is the task of preparing new laborers 
for the harvest which is ripening. 

We take the oath, Lord, that we will work 
that thy Kingdom come; we will give our life 
for this ideal. 



'AT THE BARRACKS 37 

March 28th. 

They have been teaching us how to construct 
individual entrenchments. We attack en ti- 
railleurs, elbow to elbow. At the command 
" halt," we lie down and as quickly as possible 
take off our sacks and place them in front of 
us as a protection. The even numbers com- 
mence firing, and the odds, while remaining 
flat and sheltered as much as possible, must dig 
a trough in which they can stretch out full 
length, a trench deeper at the head than at the 
foot. All the earth removed is piled up in 
front in such a manner as to form a mask. As 
soon as the pile is large enough to conceal a 
man at full length, the roles are reversed; the 
even numbers dig and the odds fire. When 
everybody is under cover, we again change 
tools, join together, and deepen the individual 
trenches so as to transform them into trenches 
for riflemen lying down. The essential thing 
is to work fast — not easy when one is 
stretched out full length. 

To give more " pep " to the exercise a line of 

enemies is placed in a trench already existing 

in front of the workers, and blank cartridges 

are served out to them. When they notice a 

■'man showing himself a little too much they fire 



38 FOR FRANCE AND THE ^AITH 

at him and the man is declared dead. How- 
ever, that doesn't prevent him from continuing 
his digging! 

I think that I am ready to leave, I meari 
morally speaking. I have tried with all my 
power to prepare for it. And I have accus- 
tomed myself to face the idea of death ; it gives 
me no fear. If I must fall up there, I am 
ready. I shall die without regret, because I 
know that others will know how to do better 
than I the work to which I am consecrated, 
because I have the assurance that I have found 
the way, and that the Master will recognize me 
as one of His own. I am at peace, for I know 
that the Father will take care of those whom I 
love and that He will guard me. More and 
more it seems to me that I can live only to 
work for this : " Thy Kingdom come." 

April 1st. 

,We feel that the hour of departure is ap- 
proaching. We must be at Montauban April 
1 2th, at the latest. I commence to have had 
enough of this hole of a Castel. I scarcely 
ever go out now. This evening I went to hear 
the " Stabat " sung. 

My Corporal having left, I take his place, 



AT THE BARRACKS 39 

and call the roll. Therefore it is useless to 
turn in before 8:15. I am going to profit by 
these few minutes reading and meditating over 
my New Testament. 

I am thinking especially of these word? 
** With desire I have desired to eat this pass- 
over with you" (Luke 22: 15).^ ' This pas- 
sage struck me particularly lar>t evening, " Jesus 
knowing that his hour was come that he should 
depart out of this world unto the Father " 
(John 13 : i), and that promise he made to his 
disciples is a source of strength to me, *^ Be- 
cause I live, ye shall live also " (John 14: 19). 
May we learn obedience by the things which we 
suffer (cf. Heb. 5:8) and " know him, and the 
power of his resurrection and the fellowship 
of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his 
death," if by any means we may attain unto 
the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3: 10, 
II). 

April 5th. 

Yesterday I had twenty-four hours' leave 
which I spent at Montauban. Today, Easter 
Monday, we are free from noon on. I went 



* He had hoped to pass Easter at Montauban and to 
take communion there. This pleasure was accorded 
him. 



40 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

out with five ,or six comrades ; we took along 
books, paper, and fishpoles. Then we went 
and sat down on the bank of the canal, dropped 
our lines into the water and basked in the sun- 
light, chatting like kids. The canal, in spring, 
is the only pleasant sight at Castel. The very 
clear sky of pale blue, the rippling water, the 
trees on all sides which were becoming green, 
the sun, the red trousers and the peaceful 
barges — all that made a very picturesque and 
restful scene. 

When I wrote you last week that I was 
a little tired, I meant by that simply every 
evening. After having done an hour of bay- 
onet fencing and an hour of gun drill in the 
morning, marched ten or twelve kilometers in 
the afternoon, practiced skirmish attacks and 
dug shelter trenches, only one idea comes to us, 
to turn in as soon as possible. I am marvel- 
lously well and at Montauban I was compli- 
mented on my ruddy complexion and even on 
being fat! , 

Here is the story of my leave. Last Thurs- 
day, we went to Cordes for rifle practice. 
When it came time to return, the lieutenant 
said to us, " Let us try to catch up with the 
4th Company, which left here twenty minutes 



AT THE BARRACKS 41 

ago.'* Accordingly we stretched out more and 
more, which was quite easy as our knapsacks 
were empty or nearly so. Arrived at the top 
of the slope, we saw the 4th Company a kilo- 
meter and a half ahead, so we lengthened our 
stride. But after a while they saw that we 
were giving them the chase and struck up a 
quicker pace. Seeing that, our lieutenant each 
time that a turn concealed us from their view 
put us at double quick. As soon as this was 
discovered, the 4th did likewise. Thus we 
gave them a frantic chase until within a kilo- 
meter of Castel, where we stopped to await the 
stragglers; we were then only fifty meters from 
the 4th! And the ten kilometers had been 
covered in one hour and a quarter ! 

The lieutenant was delighted. Moreover at 
roll call in the evening he had it announced that 
those who wanted a leave had only to see him. 

Then and there I put in a request, and Sat- 
urday morning it was signed. I left Castel at 
3 o'clock, took tea with the L's, and dined with 
Madame C. Sunday I lunched at Madame 
L's, who had invited me and had prepared a 
monstrous meal fit for Pantagruel. Notwith- 
standing my very remarkable appetite, I could 
not eat enough to satisfy her. 



42 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

In the afternoon I heard a fine sermon by- 
Mr. Louis Lafon on the text, " He shall wipe 
away every tear from their eyes," followed by 
a Communion service which was very beauti- 
ful and helpful after the loneliness of Castel. 
You can imagine how I enjoyed my Easter 
Day! 

Just think! The other day on the barrack 
stairs I heard a raw peasant from Limousin 
whistling a tue-tete the Minuet of the 7th 
Sonata of Beethoven! He had picked it up 
from hearing me hum it on the march. 

Tomorrow we take up the usual work. We 
don't know when we are leaving. 

Montaiihan, April 7th. 

Here I am again at Montauban for a few 
hours, and this time it is for the departure. I 
leave with a detachrnent of 120 men to go to 
reen force the — th at the Hurlus front. 

Monday evening, at 5 o'clock roll call, six- 
teen volunteers were called for from the com- 
pany. As I had been excused from roll call I 
was not there, but I was informed in the eve- 
ning that thirty volunteers — or involontaires 
— had been taken, sixteen to leave at once, the 
others in case some of the first lot were re- 



AT THE BARRACKS 4S 

jected by the doctors. Tuesday morning at 
6:15, drill; the medical examination had to be 
passed at 7 o'clock. When the lieutenant ar- 
rived a comrade and I told him of our desire 
to go, and he authorized us to be examined. 
We went and found that it was a long exami- 
nation. The doctor said to me, '' You can go, 
no danger of your being rejected." It was 
8 :o5 and I was in undress. I rushed into the 
dormitory, changed, made up my sack, and 
gave the quarter-master everything I didn't 
need. At half past eight, downstairs. At 
nine, we took the train. On arriving here, I 
found the Rev. Mr. P. Galley and lunched with 
him at the mess of the non-commissioned of- 
ficers, he being an adjutant. Then we went to 
his room where I found Robert Dieterlen, the 
missionary, who is corporal in the — th Chas- 
seurs.^ 

This afternoon they gave us a new outfit, 
fancy gray coat, capote of mist blue, small 
light blue kepi, and excellent shoes. Besides 
there are rest shoes, a large sleeping sack of 
waterproof canvas, canteen, knapsack, shelter 
tent and pegs, tools, and a camp kettle. When 



5 Missing since the great offensive of September 25, 
1915. 



44 FOR FRANCE AND THE FATTH 

everything is' in it the knapsack will weigh 
about twenty- four kilos! At nine o'clock this 
morning we shall be reviewed, and probably 
leave in the course of the afternoon. 

I leave contented, confident, at peace. I 
thank you, father, and you my darling mother, 
for all the love and tenderness you have given 
us, for all the confidence in life and in our 
Lord, and for all the hope you have inspired in 
me. Thanks also, that on leaving, we are as- 
sured that you will not grieve too much, be- 
cause you know how we are protected. I em- 
brace you with all the love in my heart. 

April 7th. 

Now we are off! I leave joyful at the 
thought that at last I am going to be able to do 
something. 

I am not afraid to die. I say this in all sin- 
cerity; I have made the sacrifice of my life. I 
can do it without any fear. 

In the first place I know that to die is to be- 
gin to live ; not to live in an eternal rapture of 
contemplation, but to live truly. I believe that 
the dead live close to the living, invisible but 
present, and perhaps it is they whom God sends 
us in response to our prayers, in order that 



AT THE BARRACKS 45 

their spirit which is His spirit may guide us 
and inspire us. 

jAnd then I hope to have left behind me in a 
few hearts some seeds which will spring up in 
the Lord's- good time. And all that I have 
lived for, all that I wished to be and to do — 
all that, I feel, will live again and not perish. 

Do not believe because you and others re- 
main behind without taking part in the struggle 
that you are useless — quite the contrary. 
There is something you can do, pray. Pray 
for those who have left for the front, and who 
need to be upheld. Pray for those who suffer. 
Pray the Master to send laborers into His 
harvest. Prayer itself is a struggle. It must 
be a combat where we conquer our desires and 
impulses in .order that we may say to God, 
" Thou, thou knowest better than we do what 
is necessary for us; enable us to place all in 
thy hands, knowing that thy will, whatever it 
may be, is a will of infinite love." 

I speak to you about death, because I am 
thinking about it, because my entire effort is 
spent in preparing for it, since it may come. 
Whatever happens, remember, " He shall wipe 
away every tear from their eyes." But I have 
faith Jn life, faith in God. "Fear nothing. 



46 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

only believe.'' Trust Him confidently, and 
pray also on behalf of those who are fighting 
and who can not, themselves, find the time to 
pray aright. 



Ill 

AT THE FRONT 



Ill 

AT THE FRONT 

Cahors Station, April 7th, 8 p. m. 
We left Montauban at 4:21 p. m. We are 
traveling in a cattle car, thirty-two of us. 
Beautiful weather. Thus far good trip. Un- 
fortunately Cahors lunch counter closed, im- 
possible to get anything hot. 

ChdteaurouXj April 8th, 2 p. m. 
Rained all night. The car roof leaked and 
we were pretty well soaked. Had to change 
cars and now we are royally settled in first- 
class compartments. Great welcome every- 
where; cars bedecked with flowers! No dra- 
goons at the station, so could not find out if 
the fourth squadron is still at Baccarat.^ All 
goes well. 



1 Squadron in which his oldest brother was serving 
as hrigndier. 

49 



50 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

Troyes, April 9th, 8 a. m. 
Delightful night in our first-class carriage, 
slept like a king. Everything continues to go 
along first rate. Able to have a good wash 
and shave this morning. Going on in the 
direction of Neufchateau. All's well. 



Bar-le-Duc, April loth, 4 p. m. 

We arrived here last night at 10:15. We 
were all snoozing in the train, when some one 

cried, '' Le th en has." Immediately we 

were getting ready, digging out knapsacks and 
guns. Many men had paid no further thought 
to their knapsacks or guns since leaving Mon- 
tauban; therefore for a few minutes there was 
an admirable little '' pagaille." 

Finally we left the station and crossed the 
city. We are quartered in an old factory 
where we have a little straw, but it is cold as a 
barn. Having no blankets we were freezing; 
slept well until three o'clock just the same. 
Since then I have dressed and brushed up. 
We are going to start in a minute, by railway 
train as before, for the front which is only 
some thirty-five kilometers away. Naturally 
we are going in an unknown direction. 



AT THE FRONT 51 

Des Armees de la Repuhlique, 

Sunday, April nth. 

Our trip ended yesterday afternoon, and 
now we have joined our regiment. At five 
o'clock we left our Bar-le-Duc factory, crossed 
the city, and took the train. Slowly, at an 
average rate of fifteen kilometers an hour 
perhaps, we passed over a series of hills in the 
direction of Verdun. It rained, it snowed, 
it froze; but soon we no longer thought any- 
thing about it. Right and left we were leav- 
ing behind us bombarded and burned villages 
and fields ploughed up by shells. Everywhere 
there were shell sockets, empty "" hoites de 
singe " small lines of trenches and graves ; 
graves already almost levelled by the rain and 
wind, bearing a modest cross of wood, most 
often nameless, and here and there adorned 
with a kepi, an empty socket or a bayonet. 
How sad these tombs are, half -hidden in the 
fields which are becoming green! 

At eleven o'clock we get off at Souilly-sur- 
Meuse at about twenty or twenty-five kilo- 
meters from Verdun, whose cannon can be 
heard roaring. It is raining. The roads are 
covered with a very soft chalky mud and 
everybody is more or less plastered with it. 



§2 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

We fall into line, haversacks on our backs, 
in a field, and we start off for the cantonment. 
The rain has stopped. Between the clouds the 
sun risks itself a little. For three hours and 
a half we paddle in the mud and finally arrive 
at Heippes-sur-Meuse, where we still are. 

Heippes is a very small village encircled by 
hills. Here one sees soldiers almost exclu- 
sively. All of the — th Army Corps is in this 
region, au repos for the first time since the 
beginning. What is going to be done with 
it? No one knows. 

The soldiers are horribly dirty; uniforms 
torn, burned, and covered with mud. That 
is readily understood, when one sees the fife 
they lived in the trenches, sleeping on damp 
soil, crawling in the mire, and spattered with 
mud by the bursting shells. 

My company is quartered in a large barn. 
There are cows below us. Above and to the 
right of the door are the first and the second 
sections, sleeping on straw and having for 
light only that which enters by the door or by 
the chinks between the tiles. A little farther 
up and to the left are the other two sections. 
We are packed one against the other, side by 
side.- Plenty of water, and it is very good; 



AT THE FRONT 53 

food excellent and quite abundant. On the 
whole we are better ofif than at the barracks 
and I have slept like a king; but — there are 
some many-footed inhabitants of all colors, 
forms, and thicknesses. 

Naturally we receive many tips, but espe- 
cially this one, " Lighten your sack as much 
as possible." Accordingly we throw over- 
board C' balancer "') the extra shoes, tent pegs, 
kettle, six out of ten biscuits, two of the three 
cans' of preserves, and, as soon as it commences 
to trouble us, the sleeping-bag, for it seems the 
tent canvas is a good substitute. Just imagine, 
thus lightened the knapsack still weighs from 
fifteen to twenty kilos and in addition each 
one of us carries 96 cartridges though we 
should have 250. 

Above Heippes there is a hill which the Ger- 
mans were occupying and which was captured 
between the 6th and 14th of September by 
seven regiments, nearly all from the reserve. 
They fought bitterly. And on the summit 
is any number of graves. They say there are 
three thousand men up there, French as well as 
Germans. 

Over the principal mound there is a cement 
block bearing a tall cross of carved wood, with 



54 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

inscriptions. On one of the graves there is 
also a large cross of white wood and a wreath 
with these words: ''En souvenir de Roger 
Couve." 

There has been a great deal of fighting in 
this vicinity; on all sides are destroyed and 
burned villages. It is frightfully sad. 

But I am going. I have no fear. I am at 
peace. I feel ready. It is of infinite value 
to me to know that the prayers and thoughts of 
those who love me follow me everywhere. Be- 
sides have we not said : 

" Dans la joie et la souffrance, 
Je veux te suivre en tout lieu, 
Toute ma vie a I'avance, 
Je te Tapporte, 6 mon Dieu ! " 

Very often I think of this France which is 
going to come, which will be born of the free- 
dom-bearing war. It is necessary that she un- 
derstand her duty to be human. One must 
know what he is and what he is doing that all 
may live in the conscious presence of le De- 
voir.^ It is not a case of having a duty be- 

2 "The English sense of the word 'duty' — 
* Stern Daughter of the Voice of God ' 
— hardly corresponds to that of the beautiful French 



AT THE FRONT 55 

cause one lives, but of living because one has 
a duty ; and in so much as one has a duty and 
knows it, to live for it. 

Enclosed are two or three violets from here : 
spring is everywhere the same sweet, fresh 
messenger of hope. 

C our ccllcs-sur- Aire, April 13th. 

Last Monday we left Heippes in order to 
go farther south to Courcelles-sur-Aire, 
where we have remained ever since. 

The place is truly charming, in the midst of 
its circle of hills and bordered by small groves 
of ash trees and firs. The weather is always 
delightfully clear, cool, and sunny. Below 
the village runs a swift stream of very cold 
water, the Aire. Yesterday afternoon I spent 
two or three hours upon its bank writing, read- 
ing, and doing my washing. Besides I gath- 

word devoir, which recurs so often in these letters and 
which signified in chivalry the devout and willing, as 
well as faithful fulfilment of knightly obligation. 
Devoir was the watchword of this young hero's life, 
and in the letters which follow, it stands out 
for all that free and joyful service which it was his 
heart's desire to render, not only to the land that 
claimed his earthly allegiance, but to the Kingdom of 
God." — G. W. Mackintosh. 



56 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

ered a quantity of wild chicory for salad. If 
it is still as fine this afternoon and we are 
free, I shall return there to fish. 

Five or six of us have clubbed together for 
mess, a sort of cooperative society. Each 
brings his contribution. Thus yesterday we 
had, besides the regulation soup and meat, a 
wild chicory salad with two hard boiled eggs, 
some fried minnows, wine, and milk — truly a 
feast for a king. 

I have, as they say, discovered the filon 
("struck ore"). My regiment, being from 
the South, drinks a great deal of wine, and 
from the moment of its arrival at the en- 
campment all the men make a rush on the wine 
merchants, the grocers, and even the inhabit- 
ants : result, impossible to be served. So while 
the others are scrambling for wine, I hurry 
off to look for some milk, and, if possible, one 
or two eggs. So much the better, because the 
milk is very good around here and I prefer it 
to wine. 

Notwithstanding my fears, last night was as 
restful as the preceding ones. The straw was 
plainly damp ; but I slept upon my doubled up 
tent canvas, rolled up in my good blanket, 
with my head upon the knapsack, and I was as 



AT THE FRONT 57 

happy as a prince. We are, however, so 
closely packed against each other that it is 
necessary to sleep on the side, and I had all 
the difficulty in the world turning over during 
the night. 

In the morning, jus exquis (excellent 
coffee). It had been freezing, the sky was 
fresh and blue, and without thinking I com- 
menced to whistle Grieg's " Matin " with all 
my might. 

Seven o'clock, corvee (fatigue duty) after 
wood. There were twenty of us. We did 
practically nothing for two hours except to 
warm ourselves in the sun and breathe the pure 
air. At nine o'clock we came back slowly 
with our wood. It was while on corvee duty 
that I gathered the enclosed violets. 

The report has just been read; that is to 
say, the lieutenant has announced that there 
is nothing to report ! Drill this afternoon. 

April 14th. 
We are still at Courcelles, and they are not 
yet talking of sending us away ; but it is alto- 
gether plain that we shall not remain here long. 
The cannon commenced their fire this morn- 
ing. We are doing next to nothing, eating 



58 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

well, and sleeping the same. If this regime 
continues it will not be long before we are 
big and fat. 

Yesterday at one p. m. started off without 
knapsack, canteen, or musette. We climbed 
slowly the hills opposite. Then we were sent 
to the edge of the trenches which are up there, 
made to examine them, and finally went 
through some combination drills, returning by 
four o'clock. 

. Here, also, there was much fighting during 
the battle of the Marne. Here our right wing 
drove back the German left. In every direc- 
tion there are shell craters, shell sockets, 
splinters from bursted shells, fuse caps, load- 
ers, crushed canteens, and torn knapsacks. 
And then the graves — ! Here and there one 
sees a cross or simply some trenches, where 
the bodies have been thrown, and which later 
have been filled in. 

But life is taking on more and more its 
normal course. The engineering corps has re- 
paired the bridges and the roads ; little by little 
the inhabitants have begun rebuilding; bom- 
barded dwellings are being repaired tempora- 
rily, the walls reenforced and covered with a 
makeshift roof. 



AT THE FRONT 59 

Many of the fields are being ploughed, 
seeded, and irrigated. Grain is coming up. 
Yesterday evening on returning from drill we 
found ourselves face to face with an old, old 
peasant, very wrinkled, but who was straight- 
ening himself up proudly to sow the field which 
his children could no longer cultivate. Though 
older, he resembled " The Sower " of Burnand. 
It was truly an impressive sight. 

This afternoon, again, we went out on drill. 
yVc did barely more than ten kilometers, in a 
slight sprinkle of rain. For my part, I found 
the tramp delightful; the country is beautiful, 
there are interesting things to see, and it is 
an excellent exercise. 

April 15th. 
Throughout the day, an important move- 
ment of troops has taken place in our neigh- 
borhood. From 6:30 A. M. regiments passed, 
headed by their bands. Then passed the motor 
trucks, the ambulances, the artillery, the cav- 
alry, and still more infantry. During the 
afternoon, from time to time, troops were still 
going by. Moreover, we are asking ourselves 
if we shall not be leaving in our turn this night 
or tomorrow. 



€0 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

As a matter of fact, this afternoon they came 
after us at the moment we were going to start 
drill. We were taken back to cantonment 
rapidly, and there took place the fete of the 
battalion, which was not to have been cele- 
brated until Saturday next! 

There were foot races (lOO meters flat) 
and wrestling. I ran, but having fallen, came 
in only second in the semi-final, and won a 
pencil for my trouble! 

This morning I took a tramp on the hills. 
It was truly delightful. The weather was 
fine and warm. All the valley was bathed in 
a blue haze, almost transparent, and the mo- 
tionless poplars seemed to be tall pages sleep- 
ing beside the silvery road which wound 
through this garden of the " Belle au Bois 
Dormant." One heard only the larks, and 
the formidable bass of the cannon which have 
not ceased booming all day long. 

At one o'clock off for drill. It was very 
hot. At first we skirted the side of the hill, 
then we passed over the summit, and into a 
grove where we halted. It was in that spot 
(there had been hot fighting there) that I 
gathered the periwinkles and anemones en- 
closed. 



AT THE FRONT 61 

The periwinkles made me think of Moraja; ^ 
you recall the alley which led from the terrace 
of the Mabilles' house to the little gate under 
the eucalyptus! 

Poor mission fields! I often think of 
Francis Monod. Could you send me the 
Journal des Missions? Could father also 
write a word to our chaplain in order to tell 
him where I am? 

Could R. send me the words of Stevenson's 
" Requiem " ? I like it so much, especially the 
music, that I should like to try to translate 
it. 

Do not be astonished that my style and ideas 
are so flowery; while writing I am support- 
ing the paper on my canteen. It is true that 
it has contained only milk for the last three 
days! 

April 1 6th. 
We thought that w^e would start last night, 
but for a change we are still here. Beautiful 
day as usual, and ideal temperature. The can- 
non of Verdun are no longer heard, but to 
be sure the wind is now always from the west. 

3 xhe mission station in Basutoland where he was 
born and lived several years. 



62 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

Therefore everything is perfectly calm except 
for the autobuses and motor trucks which pass 
almost without interruption. Moreover, there 
are aides-de-camp going and coming all the 
time. Finally, they have notified us that we 
are in cantonnement d'alerte until further no- 
tice. 

This afternoon, bayonet drill. As two cor- 
porals were missing R. and I (the two 
'' hleus'' oi the squad) had to replace them 
as monitors. You can see us making a bunch 
of old veterans work, none of whom were un- 
der forty years of age! 

Finally, for the second part of the program, 
there were some games. We played harres 
and petits paquets. These soldiers (many of 
them territorials) formed an astonishing spec- 
tacle running after each other and enjoying 
themselves like little kids ! 

Besides, the funniest part of it was that 
when we had had enough of it and wished to 
stop, the non-commissioned officer shouted at 
ns, " If you do not play, I will run you all in." 
And what's more he would have done it. 

We sleep all night and sometimes during 
the daytime. We eat at all hours, whenever 
anything comes our way. When it is our turn^ 



AT THE FRONT 63 

we go on corvee duty. This morning, for 
instance, I commenced by sweeping the road 
in front of the post and cleaning the borders 
of the said post, after which I picked up the 
old bones, tin cans, bread crusts, and papers 
which were wandering around the camp. We 
are reviewed, we drill, etc. 

Sunday, April i8th. 

I would have liked to be able to attend 
church service today, for there must be one 
in some part of the sector.'. But I was unable 
to find out where, and it would have done me 
no good anyway, for we have been told to be 
ready to move any hour of the day or night 
without previous warning. Consequently the 
men must not go more than 500 meters from 
camp. 

I assure you that the long rest begins to 
wear on me, and that I would much rather be 
doing something. All the more since the can- 
non of Verdun are again heard, and it is hor- 
rible to think that while one is here doing 
nothing there are those who, very near us, are 
being killed. More and more in the face of 
those who have struggled and who are dead, 
in the presence of the immense effort which 



64 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

has been made, I think of the France which 
is to come, of. the divine France which must be. 
I could not fight if I did not hope in the birth 
of that France for whom it will have been 
worth while to kill and to be killed. 

I try to profit from these days of rest in 
order to prepare myself still more. I have 
time to read and meditate. In the morning I 
try to slip away to the hillside to pray, and in 
the evening I pass a moment in church where 
a few soldiers come. 

^ If you knew how I regret not having known 
how to live and serve my Sunday school boys, 
my Boy Scouts, and my friends! But re- 
gretting serves no purpose. My heart is full 
to overflowing of things I should like to say 
to those who suffer, who weep, who wait, and 
hope. 

For me the military life has simplified every- 
thing. Things have taken on their true values 
and full significance. Some difficulties which 
seemed insurmountable have disappeared. In- 
tellectual sacrifices which I thought I could 
never accept have taken place almost of them- 
selves, without a pang. And there results a 
new vitality, a desire for intense action. And 



AT THE FRONT 65 

then, there is always peace. However, I fear 
this peace both for myself and for those I 
love, because too often it is only human. By 
this I mean that it is weakness and resigna- 
tion, in place of being the full consciousness 
of a positive duty and a real force. And I 
often pray as follows for myself and for those 
I love: 

Lord, our God, our loving Father, stir up 
our souls in order that they may not be like 
stagnant waters. Do not permit us to sleep 
in a cowardly security, in a lifeless calm, be- 
lieving that it is peace. ' On the other hand, 
give our hearts the power to suffer intensely in 
communion with all grief, to revolt against all 
injustice, to be thrilled by the appeal of every 
noble and holy cause. Lord, our Christ, thy 
Son, suffered. He wept over the death of 
His friend. He wept over thy rebellious peo- 
ple. He wept over His w^ork which threat- 
ened to end with His earthly life. But He 
lived so intensely and humanly that He was 
able to say to us men, " I am the Hfe." Lord, 
make our hearts alive. Then will thy peace 
descend upon them, not as the snow which be- 
numbs and freezes, but as the warmth of the 



66 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

sun which revives the sap in the very veins of 
the earth. O Lord, may thy Peace be with us ; 
thy peace and not the peace of men. Amen. 

April 20th. 

Upon the sparse grass behind the barn, in 
the shade (?) of some plum trees which as 
yet are only in bud, there are some thirty men 
stretched out face downward, or, with their 
kepi over their eyes, flat on their backs. 
Nearly all are sleeping; I alone am writing. 
If it were not for a delightfully refreshing 
breeze from the northwest, nothing would re- 
main in the skull but a " thick and blood- 
streaked paste" (boiiille epaisse et sangninol- 
ente), as my neighbor Corporal A., says. 

Those who are not here are snoring their 
loudest in the stable, except for some philos- 
ophers who are fishing from the bank of the 
little stream. 

The bank of this brook is a Utopian spot. 
Unhappily it is 200 meters from the canton- 
ment and if you go to sleep there and miss the 
drill hour, no one will go to wake you up. 
Result: eight days in the guard house. 

By the way, the prison is a most original 
affair. Normally the prisoners are kept in 



AT THE FRONT 67 

the lock-up, some room of the cantonment. 
But as they are very numerous at this time 
— ''rapport au vin'' — the prisoners are en- 
closed (?) in a square traced upon the ground 
with the bayonet by the chief of the guard. 
At the four corners of this original cell, 
guards are stationed with fixed bayonets, and 
a corporal is appointed chief jailer! Now I 
return to my brook. 

It passes through some fields, sometimes 
bordered with bushes and reeds, sometimes 
with quite high trees. There it certainly is 
fine. I went down there a few minutes ago 
to wash. It is very picturesque, this view 
of the soldiers' torsos against the green of the 
meadows ! 

One would scarcely expect such descriptions 
from a warrior. But all we are doing is eat- 
ing, sleeping, drilling, reading, and writing. 

. April 22, 1915. 

My dear Friends:^ 

From the front where I am often thinking 
of you I send a message of affectionate en- 

^ Letter addressed to the group of Scouts which he 
had founded at Montauban, supplied by the chief of 
the troop, Mr. Garrisson. 



68 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

couragement. You have before you a mag- 
nificent task., Your fathers, your brothers, 
and your friends have fought and are fighting 
still in order to protect the soil of France, and 
especially in order to make the French spirit 
of righteousness, justice, and liberty victori- 
ous. They will make it triumph beyond our 
borders; it is up to you to make it the spirit 
of our entire Patrie, that each Frenchman 
may have only one ideal : to bring in the reign 
of justice. 

While looking at some soldiers' tombs, I 
was repeating to myself these words : " They 
did not love their life, they had no fear of 
death." Their duty was to die if necessary. 
When they received the order, ''A Vassaut!'' 
they saw the enemy at the loopholes of the 
trenches ready to deal certain death, almost 
at the end of the muzzle, and they charged 
without hesitation. Many died; the rest are 
conquerors. 

Your duty, yours, is to live — not as plants 
and animals, that merely exist, but as men who 
have a purpose in life and struggle to attain 
it. Our elders had no fear of death; you 
should not fear to live. For you to live means 
to be as well and as vigorous as possible, to 



AT THE FRONT 69 

be as straightforward, as loyal, as faithful, as 
devoted to others, and as pure as lies within 
your power. That means to try very hard 
each day to do, not one good turn, but only 
good turns. In fact that means to be true 
scouts, men who blaze the \vay for others, in 
order to show them how one must live and 
where to find the strength to live aright. 

If you accept this ideal, your elders will not 
have suffered in vain, and you will have the 
right in your turn to enter the race. There- 
fore let your watchword be " Faithful even 
unto death." Unto death — that is to say, 
during all our life we will remain faithful to 
Him who has shown us what a man's life can 
and must be; we wall remain faithful to the 
Christ, the supreme Scout. 

I wish you one and all to be able to live thus. 
Your friend and brother Scout. 

April 25th. 
Thursday morning, arose at half-past three. 
At five-thirty we were off. It was beautiful 
weather, and one could march without fatigue, 
but the day promised to be hot. As a mat- 
ter of fact, the heat increased little by little 
and the dust became thicker. But there was 



70 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

a cool breeze striking us from the side, which 
carried away the dust, and as I was marching 
on the side of the column, I did not receive 
any. 

We made few halts — five minutes every 
hour, and we were marching relatively fast, 
considering the stops necessary because of the 
crowded four corners. We crossed many vil- 
lages and small cities which have been de- 
stroyed — Vaubecourt, Rambercourt, etc. 
Finally toward one o'clock, we reached Lai- 
mont, having covered about thirty kilometers. 
They lodged us in a barn, and there we spent 
the night and the following day. 

Friday evening we left at eight-thirty, tak- 
ing the train four kilometers away, at 
Revigny, in cattle cars. We were forty-four 
in each car and the maximum capacity is forty. 
To sit down each had only the space occupied 
by his knapsack on the floor of the car, and 
one slept with his head supported upon his 
knees — not very comfortable! The night 
was relatively calm. 

.Little by little, we approaches Paris, and 
soon one could make out the Eiffel Tower, not- 
withstanding the mist. We came to a stand- 
still, in the Noisy-le-Sec station and remained 



AT THE FRONT 71 

there about thirty minutes.^ Then we de- 
parted by way of Creil, toward the north. 

The hours passed very slowly. Happily I 
had some lectures of Mr. Raoul Allier to 
read, which I received from the Federation. 
We were installed for the night, but at nine 
o'clock rcvcil sounded suddenly. It was neces- 
sary to leap from the train, equip ourselves 
in all haste, and form up on the platform. 
Then it was a departure into the dark night. 
A fine cold rain fell which pierced to the skin. 
On the outskirts of the village of Agricourt in 
the Somme Departemcnt we heard the cannon 
very near; we even saw the reflection of the 
firing. 

The first two villages to which we came were 
already full of soldiers. It was necessary to 
start off again in the rain. New wandering 
Jews, grumbling over the humidity and fa- 
tigue (we had just spent twenty-three hours 
on the train), we went from village to village, 
finding soldiers everywhere and no room left. 
f Finally we found a cantonment and there 



5 Speaking of the passage through the station of 
Noisy-le-Sec, in a letter to a friend, he added : " Eleven 
kilometers from home! You can understand how it 
made my heart swell a bit ! " 



72 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

was fresh straw in abundance. But it was 
four o'clock in the morning and we had been 
on the march since 9:30 p.m., almost never 
halting and in the rain! Bunches of men had 
stopped along the way, having neither the 
strength nor the courage to go farther. I 
don't know how I stuck it out jusqu' a bout 
(to the end). Exhausted by the railway 
journey, famished, with shoulders raw from 
the fact that the straps of my knapsack were 
too narrow, I said to myself many times, " I 
flop down here." And yet I managed to hold 
out to the end. But as soon as I had my shoes 
and clothes off, I rolled up in my blanket and 
immediately fell asleep. 

Sunday morning we did not arise until 
noon, and as soon as mess was swallowed we 
had to dry our soaked clothes, clean our guns 
carefully, and install ourselves in the canton- 
ment. Finally evening arrived without my 
having had more than fifteen minutes of rest, 
during which time I hastily went through my 
personal devotions. 

On the other hand yesterday I was very 
quiet. I received Foi et Vie and some of Mr. 
Allier's lectures. I enjoyed them very much 



AT THE FRONT 7S 

and passed them around somewhat among my 
comrades. 

Yesterday afternoon I was called by Major 
Ch. Schmuckel. He proposed to take me into- 
the 1st Battalion, and since this morning I 
have been assigned to the 4th Company. 

My new battalion is the most distinguished 

of the Army. The Major is very much 

loved because he is fair and always ready to- 
render service. He is an excellent man with 
a high sense of duty, as he proved by leading, 
his men to the attack of the S.K. trench at 
Perthes in such a masterful manner that his- 
battalion was cited in a war order and deco- 
rated with '' la croix de guerre/' ^ 



6 The Chief of the battalion, Charles Schmuckel, Com- 
mandant en second of the military school of St. Maixent,. 
had been cited a I'ordre de I'armce in these terms: 
" Thanks to his skill and admirable enthusiasm with' 
which he knew how to inspire his battalion, he has suc- 
ceeded in capturing strongly fortified and defended 
works. By his energy, his ardent spirit on the offensive- 
and his remarkable spirit of decision, he hurled back 
some very bitter counter-attacks of the enemy, succeed- 
ing, not only in maintaining conquered territory, but 
also in gaining ground." 

Fell on the field of honor, at Anzin-St. Aubin, the* 
15th of May. 



74 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

We are held in reserve and very severely 
restricted in the cantonment. They fear that 
we may be located by enemy aeroplanes and 
as soon as one of them is signalled, they notify 
us by three bugle calls. Then every one has 
to hunt cover. We are still waiting until they 
need us for un coup de main. 

April 26th. 

I have nothing to tell you. My life is 
empty, made up of drill and more especially of 
rest. But this only apparently so. I feel 
that I am living ardently and intensely. 
Never have I lived v^ith such keenness, even 
in civil life. There is w^ithin me a very vol- 
cano of emotions and ideas. Certainly I 
shall never be the same as before. 

I w^ould like you to read some of Raoul Al- 
lier's lectures — the list is found in Le Chris- 
tianisme — and an article by Pierre Chavan- 
nes in Foi et Vie (April 15, 191 5) entitled 
" Emmaiis, meditation Idiqite." The entire 
article is worth studying closely, for it is mag- 
nificent. You will find in it some ideas which 
are troubling me at this very minute. i ' 

I am much concerned as to the legitimacy of 
this war. I have confidence that our cause 



AT THE FRONT 75 

is just and good, and that we have the right 
on our side. But it is necessary that this war 
should be fruitful and that from all these 
deaths a new life should spring forth for hu- 
manity. 

I am thinking incessantly of the France of 
tomorrow, of this young France awaiting its 
hour. It is absolutely essential that it should 
be a consecrated France, where each person 
shall have but one reason for being — le De- 
voir. Every one will live only in so much as 
he understands his duty and struggles to ac- 
complish it. And it is up to us Protestants, 
or rather to us " believers," to reveal this new 
life to the world. It is our duty to be apostles; 
and that duty is clear, for Jesus defined it: 
*' Ye " therefore shall be perfect as your 
heavenly Father is perfect." Perfect in our- 
selves: which means to develop our personality 
jusqu' a bout, to make it give all that it can 
give, to push it even to the perfect stature of 
Christ. And then perfect in others (for we 
believe with all our might in the communion 
of the saints, do we not?) : which signifies to 
pray for others, in order that they may know 
how to submit their conscience and their will 
to the royal will of God. 



76 VOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

April 27th. 

You can not realize the intensity of my life 
at the present time, during these hours of rest, 
blessed hours, in which self-imposed tasks 
shaped by traditional formulas and moulds 
'have been replaced by a free development of 
the soul. 

I have often dreamed of this hour, when 
I should enter into the reality of life. But 
I did not believe that it would come so soon. 
And now I am enjoying it profoundly. 

The only thing which I regret is not to have 
time enough to coordinate my thoughts. 
That will take place naturally, little by little, 
and the links between my ideas then will be 
vital, and organic, no longer artificial. But 
what a lack of tranquillity for praying aright. 

Pray for me and ask God that I may have 
the patience necessary to await at this time 
the hour of going under fire, and to await 
well. 

April 28th. 

This afternoon the fete of our Company 

takes place. There will be songs, choruses, 

recitations, etc. A pretty little stage has been 

<lecorated with pine boughs and it seems there 



AT THE FRONT 77 

are some artistes who are quite good. But 
we w^ere not permitted to go unless we left all 
together in column by four. Those who were 
not ready had to remain at the cantonment, as 
has been the case with me. 

I had finished putting on my knapsack, and 
was binding the shaky edifice with the last 
strap, when the whole thing collapsed in my 
hands. The strap buckles had given way all 
at once. So I had to mend them all and it 
required too much time to be ready at the ap- 
pointed hour. 

Here I have found my comrade D., which 
pleases me very much. He is a very fine lad, 
originally from Papeete, and a student in the 
Bordeaux High School of Commerce. He 
knows the missionaries Moreau and Vernier 
very well. 

April 28th. 
It is wonderfully fine, at a moment like this, 
to feel that there are others around us and' 
behind us, who have the same ideal as our- 
selves and are following the same '' Marche a 
VEtoile."- Others besides us, if we can not 
do it, will labor at the great task of conquer- 
ing the world for its King, our King. Others 



78 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

will be able to raise high the torch which we 
had dreamed of carrying forward. 

Others — but I have too much faith in life 
and its value to pause at this hypothesis. I 
do not wish to prepare myself for death, but 
for life — for life eternal, without doubt, but 
more immediately for the life on earth. Cer- 
tainly when I return, like every one else, I shall 
have to be different; I shall no longer have 
the right to be what I was before. Otherwise 
how would the war have served me? Have 
we not this conviction, that it is necessary to 
renew humanity? And is it not our duty to 
be renewed, ourselves, first of all? 

And to begin with, it seems to me that we 
must develop and infinitely enlarge the con- 
ception of our ministry. Pastors, yes, no 
doubt (I take the term in the sense in which 
it is currently used today, that is to say, as 
guides, preachers, and counsellors of a par- 
ish)— we must be that, and missionaries also. 
But we must be more than that, we must be 
men; still more, apostles. We must shine be- 
yond our circle and group around us all men 
of gooa will. In addition, we must struggle 
that every will with which we come in contact 
may become a good will. 



AT THE FRONT 79 

First, there will be our preaching to change. 
All that consists in empty formulas, beautiful 
as they may be, powerfully as they may have 
contributed to nourish souls; all the formulas 
which are today empty because our philosophic 
or religious thought, our experiences or our 
conception of life have outgrown them or 
caused them to burst their frames — all such 
formulas must disappear. And what we shall 
substitute for them as our statement of faith 
will be not less great, not less beautiful, not 
less true, if we search for it in the depths of 
souls in union with God. And it will not be 
less Christian, for the Spirit of Christ is a 
spirit which lives, which develops — never re- 
maining for a moment in any fixed form. 

Our spiritual ministry must include a spe- 
cial concern for the young. Without doubt, 
we always must speak, and indefatigably, of 
consolation and hope. But our church must 
not become an asylum of the hopeless and the 
crushed. Above all, it is necessary to speak 
of life, which is summed up in this one word : 
le Devoir. A total consecration to its com- 
plete duty must be the life of the new human- 
ity. 

They have just announced to us that we 



80 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

are to leave this evening; whither, I have no 
idea. Therefore I shall doubtless be obliged 
to shorten my letter. Probably we are going 
nearer to the' firing line. 

You will find attached a clipping from a 
sermon of Georges Lauga, concerning the in- 
fluence of men after death — just a little 
memorandum for you to use as you like. In 
my letter to L. I forgot an idea to which I 
attach considerable importance: the develop- 
ment of one's own personality. I refer you 
to three lectures by Raoul Allier, entitled 
'' Semeurs de vie,'' '^ Dans le mystere de 
lame,'' and ''La mysterieuse conquete." 

Finally there remains prayer. We have al- 
ready spoken of it, but the subject is inex- 
haustible. I do not refer to prayer of inter- 
cession for others, that they may know how 
to shape their lives to the Father's will of in- 
finite love and that their vision of the duty to 
accomplish may be ever clearer and more 
vivid. 

There is also prayer for ourselves. We 
must pray to be pardoned. Pardon is at first 
the destruction of habits and associations of 
ideas which grow in us so as to paralyze us. 
Briefly, we must ask God to renew our liberty 



AT THE FRONT 81' 

without ceasing. Speaking on this subject, 
do you recall the conclusion of the course of 
lectures by Mr. Bois on liberty and in particu- 
lar that we are free at each moment of the 
volitional act? 

There is more than that in pardon : to believe 
that God is love is to imply that He can suffer 
and that He actually suffers from each of our 
shortcomings, as He rejoices in our joys and 
our successes (cf. many of the sayings of Jesus ; 
P. Gounelle : "' Le livre qui vit/' dans Foi et 
Vie, 1914; Fallot: " Le Dieu masque/' etc.). 
We must humble ourselves for making HIM 
suffer and have communion in His suffering. 

We ask God for strength. Remember the 
word addressed to Gideon : " Go with the 
force that thou hast " ; it surely holds true for 
us also. • We are strong, but we ignore the 
fact often voluntarily; we are afraid of this 
strength which is in us, for, if we used it as 
it should be used, it would direct us perhaps 
where we do not wish to go. Let us ask 
God that we may recognize this strength and 
that we may know how to use it that it may 
bring the greatest returns for Him. 

Neither do we know about the subconscious 
self in prayer, where it plays, I believe, a great 



82 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

role (cf. Rom. 8:26-31, and, for the mean- 
ing, I Cor. 14: 1-26). I do not yet seize the 
real significance of this fact very well; I 
merely indicate it to you. 

Pardon me for not writing more. I must 
stop in order to buckle on my knapsack in 
view of an immediate departure. But I was 
anxious to send you these few thoughts which 
draw us together. 

April 30th. 

We left Epagny at 8:15 to take the train. 
We were better off than formerly, only forty 
men per box car and with straw on the floor. 
We made a long run in the direction of the 
coast, then came back toward the interior. 

Leaving the train at 9 o'clock, we were piled 
into motor-trucks. We were thirty per car 
and packed like sardines. Absolutely tropical 
heat and horribly dusty. The sweat mois- 
tened our faces so that the dust stuck; then 
later when we marched the perspiration traced 
\nagnificent marble effects on the face. Really 
vje were sights! 

A^fter 25 kilometers by auto we set of¥ on 
foot Ht was noon) and covered a march of 
only a few hours, though fatiguing because of 
the heat and dust. 



AT THE FRONT 6S 

Finally we are quartered near Arras. We 
sleep here tonight in the open air. We are 
quite at the front. Before us there are only 
the trenches, three kilometers away, and be- 
hind us the soldiers au repos and the artillery 
which is firing over our heads. Our aero- 
planes are flying in every direction and the 
Germans are cannonading in vain. We will 
go to the trenches doubtless tomorrow. 

May 1st. 

Just think, this morning we were baptized 
with fire. Oh ! the baptism was not very damp 
this time nor very serious, but it is the be- 
ginning. 

On all sides we are surrounded with artil- 
lery. Already yesterday afternoon the field 
pieces were letting loose, but at nightfall they 
introduced the great valse. Shells were fired 
from every side, and I assure you we heard 
the shots plainly. And it lasted like that 
until morning. Then they grew less fre- 
quent; one here, another there, from time 
to time. But at 9 :45 the heavy pieces on 
our right, close at hand, opened a fire by 
volleys to which the Germans lost no time in 
replying. 



84 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

As a matter of fact at the moment when 
they had just served us la soiipe I heard in 
the air toward the left, a noise hke that of a 
locomotive puffing rapidly up a steep grade; 
the sounds were very short and close to- 
gether. Instinctively I raised my head to see 
the thing pass and naturally, nothing doing! 
Two seconds later, a terrific explosion. A 
105 marmite, it seems, had burst 300 meters 
from us ! We watched the smoke ; they must 
have been firing at the artillery. 

A few minutes passed, then another locomo- 
tive, much nearer. This time — ^ a tableau ! 
One would have thought himself in the midst 
of an Arab camp at the hour of prayer, and 
the little tents added to the illusion. Subito, 
almost all of the men fell face downward, ly- 
ing flat on the ground for the most part, or 
crouched as low as possible, or kneeling on 
the ground with the bodies bent over double. 
For an instant no one moved. I heard a slow, 
soft whistling, p-s-s-st, then a dull thud, paf ! 
It was a shell fragment striking the tree 
against which I was leaning, about fivt meters 
above the ground. 

Then everybody arose, and the few who had 
remained standing showed us where the frag- 



AT THE FRONT 85 

ments had struck and where the shell had 
fallen. This time it was closer; less than 200 
meters away, it seems. The firing appears 
to have been a curtain fire, the shells falling 
with the regularity of a scythe stroke, sweep- 
ing over a wide space. So when one hears 
a new marmite coming along, everybody drops. 

But the blows are finding our left again. 
Evidently it is the artillery they are after, and 
they do not know that tv/o companies are 
bivouacked so near. And so, when two other 
marmites passed over every one remained 
standing and went on calmly eating. 

Rather long silence, then, suddenly our 
155's reply. And since then, the firing has 
never stopped. There is at least one shot 
every two minutes, sometimes volleys of three, 
four, and five in succession. - 

Otherwise all goes well. I had an excel- 
lent siesta from one to two. Now I have 
just drawn twelve packages of cartridges 
which make me 200 " prunes " in all. This 
evening we shall no doubt hustle forward to 
relieve the others in the trenches. 

May 2nd. 
Here I am in the famous trenches! Yes- 



86 ?0R FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

terday evening at 8:45 they assembled us in 
front of the cantonment, and, knapsack in 
position, each one carrying a dish or a kettle 
in his hand, we left in the greatest silence. 
The artillery, at that moment, was not work- 
ing and there was no light except that of the 
rockets hurled abruptly from time to time by 
the Germans or ourselves, and the pocket 
flashlights of the officers. It was truly im- 
pressive, this night march of the entire bat- 
talion. 

After having crossed a destroyed village 
we entered into the hoy an (communication 
trench). Dug out in the thick clay, it sufficed 
to hide us completely. As we approached the 
real trench, the noise of the fusillade became 
more distinct and some balls commenced to 
whistle above our heads. Instinctively, one 
ducks ! 

After more than an hour and a half of 
marching in the hoyau, we reached the trench 
and relieved the regiment which was occupy- 
ing it. We have some very comfortable rest 
rooms dug in the wall of the trench. There 
are such inscriptions as : " Attention, danger- 
ous bend " ; " Look out for women and chil- 
dren " ; ** Carriage road leading to the Ger- 



AT THE FRONT 87 

mans, climb the opposite bank and march 
straight ahead ! " etc. 

Naturally the first moments passed in the 
trenches are quite exciting. On all sides bul- 
lets whistle; shells and bombs pas<^ over head. 
But one quickly gets accustomed to it and by 
the end of an hour no longer trembles. 

An amusing thing is the very diversity of 
the sounds heard in the trenches : the German 
dry, sharp, vibrating detonations; ours, a 
deeper bass; those of the different cannon, 
gatling guns, and trench mortars; the variety 
of the noises which the shells make in passing 
and exploding; the metallic sound of bullets 
striking some hard objects; the rockets; the 
aeroplane motors; and, finally, the song of 
the larks, for in the well-started fields of grain 
separating the trenches, they sing as if noth- 
ing were going on. 

You can not realize how near you seem, you 
and mother, and how delightful that is to me. 

Roclincourt, May 3rd. 

About 9 P. M. yesterday, the — th Company 

came to relieve us, and now we are quartered 

in the village of Roclincourt, or at least, in 

what remains of this village. We are lodging 



88 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

in a house that has more windows than the 
architects intended, thanks to the shells; and 
we are sleeping on straw, pele-mele with the 
rats that swarm here. 

This morning I was sleeping peacefully 
when they came to call me, as well as another 
soldier, named D. The lieutenant has nom- 
inated us artillerymen. D. is range finder 
and I am server for a cannon of 37 mm. which 
shoots very pretty little percussion shells. 
The animal is situated quite on the first line, 
in a covered shelter. When it is not in use, 
the loophole can be blocked up with sand bags. 
It is a good plan, for the Germans locate and 
fire well : for instance, this morning while we 
were making some trial shots, several bullets 
struck right beside the loophole. 

It is a responsible post. 

May 4th. 
There are many experiences which I re- 
joice in having at this hour. 
- In the first place, the experience of mingling 
with men. During these hours when, at each 
instant, one is risking his life, they show them- 
selves exactly as they are, boasting neither 
good nor evil. All that is superficial, all 



AT THE FRONT 89 

masks, disappear, and the man alone stands 
out. Thus one makes the acquaintance of 
souls, under conditions which doubtless will 
never be found again. f 

Next comes the experience of the " com- 
munion of saints." At no moment have I 
felt so near to my dear ones and to all those 
I love. Never could I have believed that, not- 
withstanding the distances, we could be joined 
so closely with those who are with us in the 
struggle. This is true also of certain friends, 
of the Student Volunteers in particular, and 
of those who while not being " Volunteers " 
have replied also, " Here am I, Lord, send 
me." And this brings me to the best of these 
three experiences, to the unique and marvel- 
lous experience of prayer. 

J Do you not believe that if our Monday 
morning prayer meetings were sometimes so 
cold, it was because we made prayers instead 
of praying? Read again Romans 8:26, 2yJ 

"^ And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our in- 
firmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; 
but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be uttered ; and he that search- 
eth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, 
because he maketh intercession for the saints accord- 
ing to the will of God. 



90 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

These meditations lead me, moreover, to 
Henri Bois whose sane and human philosophy 
J enjoy more and more. 

May 5th. 

It seems that we are going up to the trenches 
this evening. I am not sorry at the thought 
for there at least there is something doing. 
The artillery duel is going on over our heads, 
but one pays no more attention to it. 

May 5th. 

Our village is nearly in the center of the 
zone of fire of the two artilleries. Since yes- 
terday afternoon the bombardment has been 
quite violent; but it is really nothing as yet, 
and when the preparation for the attack com- 
mences we shall see something very different. 

Moreover, one gets quickly accustomed to 
all these noises and even pays no more atten- 
tion to them, while the first days we ducked 
our heads at each burst or whistling which 
seemed a little near ! 

You hope that this trial will do me much 
good. Thanks. I already feel changed. 
The abstract being within me is gradually dis- 
appearing. Many realities of the spiritual 
world which before were only phantoms have 



AT THE FRONT 91 

become flesh and life by an experience re- 
newed at every instant. I am learning to 
live. 

But a solemn hour is approaching. To- 
morrow or the day after we are going to at- 
tack. We must go up with fixed bayonets, and 
the assault will be terrible because it is no 
longer one trench which must be captured, 
it is a question of several kilometers. If I 
remain up there, know that I die without fear 
and in peace. I ask only one thing — that the 
little strength which I have been able to con- 
secrate may in some measure react on those 
who have loved me and whom I have loved, 
upon all my companions in labor and ideals. 

May 6th. 
I am in good health and I embrace you.^ 

May 8th. 

Since Thursday evening I have been back 
in the trenches, knowing that the big attack 
is near at hand. And since that time my life 
has been one tense and anxious watching for 



8 These lines were written upon a postcard. They 
were the last which he mailed through the Quarter- 
master. 



92 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

the coming hour. But I am at peace, I fear 
nothing, I shall be able to do my duty with 
the aid of God. 

The bombardment is becoming more and 
more violent. Today, particularly, the artil- 
lery is firing without a stop and one can hear 
only the noise of the shells. They whistle 
through the air, on a level with the trench, like 
a great heart-rending sob. Then they explode 
over yonder with a dry crash, and everything 
flies — earth, wood, and iron. Finally come 
the shell splinters, reaching up to where we are 
and falling on all sides. And to think that it 
is scarcely the fiftieth part of the artillery sur- 
rounding us which is firing! What will it be 
like when all belch forth at once? Therefore 
I am hopeful. The attack can not fail to suc- 
ceed. There will be some wounded, some 
killed, but we shall go forward and far — ^ 



9 The letter was unfinished and was found in the 
pocket of his capote when he was buried. 



IV 
ON THE FIELD OF HONOR 



IV 

ON THE FIELD OF HONOR 

The 9th of May, in Artois, the general of- 
fensive was begun which ended in the glori- 
ous capture of Neuville St. Vaast, of the Laby- 
rinth, of Carency, and of other places, whose 
names will remain engraved on the hearts of 
many a French father and mother. 

Exactly at ten o'clock, certain companies of 
the — th battalion left the trenches of Roclin- 
court. Some seconds later, running by the 
side of his lieutenant in a bayonet charge, the 
young soldier fell, never to rise again. How 
fully he was prepared, under the watchful eye 
of God, to face this supreme hour without fear, 
is plain enough from his letters. 

Others have informed us as to how he per- 
formed his duty and gave his life. Let them 
tell the story. 

Letter from Major Ch. Schmiickel 

May I2th, 1915. 

I had charged your dear son to tell you that 
I welcomed him into the battalion with joy; 

95 



96 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

and several times we have had the opportunity 
of praying together. I was not slow to ap- 
preciate all that this modest youth held in re- 
serve: his kindness, his calm, his quiet cour- 
age, his intellectual and moral value. 

When we attacked, May 9th, two or three 
times, alas without result, with a number of 
other obscure heroes he fell or at least dis- 
appeared. Is he a prisoner, has he been 
killed, or else wounded and picked up by some 
ambulance? Alas! I can give you no cer- 
tain information. I immediately had a search 
made for him, but have had no news of him, 
and any supposition is permissible. 

I did not write you sooner because I wished 
to know something definite. All that I can 
write you now is that we have not been able to 
bury him, and that a shadow of hope remains. 
Our beloved battalion, already mentioned a 
Vordre de Varmee has heroically and dearly 
paid its debt. As a friend, as a relative, as a 
leader, I mourn for all my dear soldier boys 
but especially for yours, who had prayed with 
me on the eve of the battle. 

Yours, sorrowfully moved, 

Ch. Schmuckel. 



ON THE FIELD OF HONOR 97 

P.S. A comrade, charged with the search for 
the missing, again comes back and still with- 
out news. In any event you may have this 
consolation — the comrades of your dear son 
went into the attack with an enthusiasm which 
won for us the thanks of the Colonel com- 
manding the brigade, and they charged hero- 
ically against all odds, against an enemy 
formidably entrenched, which it was neces- 
sary to hold back at any price in order to win 
the success you have heard of. Three times 
we went forward for the sake of Honor and 
our Patrie! 

Three days after he wrote to us the Major, 
himself, was killed by a shell in the trenches. 
We were informed of it by a letter from a 
comrade of our son. His message shozved us 
that there was no longer ground for cherish- 
ing the faint hope which the uncertainty of 
earlier news had authorised us; and that our 
child woidd return to the family hearth no 
more. » 

Here is the soldier s letter. It merits a place 
beside that of the glorious officer. Together 
they suggest this thought — such leaders are 



Gd FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

worthy to command such men. France links 
them together in a common and devout grati- 
tude. 

Letter from Mr. H. R. 

Roclincourt, May 17th. 

Major Schmuckel was killed two days ago 
and I do not know if his death coming so 
quickly did not prevent him from informing 
you of some sad news, news for which you 
have needed or will need all your courage and 
all your confidence in the beyond, so painful 
and cruel will it be to you. I am sure that, 
God helping, you will bear it, seeing there only 
a trial — alas, how sad ! — coming from Him 
who is the Master of all. 

Alfred Casalis, your son and my friend, is 
dead. On the morning of May 9th, he dashed 
courageously forward in the attack on the 
German trenches, and the bullets which do not 
choose between the good and the bad brutally 
mowed him down. 

Since entering the instruction camp of Cas- 
telsarrasin, we had never left each other's com- 
pany, and I believed that we were going to 
fight together. Because of his change to the 
— th Battalion I was not with him when he 



ON THE FIELD OF HONOR 99 

died. When I learned of his glorious death 
I was starting for the trenches, and so it was 
impossible for me to make inquiries about him. 
On coming back an repos I endeavored to find 
out what had become of Alfred's body. It 
was only yesterday I learned that it had been 
placed in a common grave dug on the battle- 
field near the place where he fell. 

Today I went to recite a prayer over the 
grave of this dear fallen friend. He is buried 
near the village of Roclincourt within the town- 
ship of that name. His memory will remain 
engraved in my heart as that of a comrade and 
sincere affectionate friend. I am a Catholic, 
he was a Protestant, and this difference of re- 
ligious opinion in no way interfered with the 
bonds of friendship which were drawing us 
closer together every day. ^ 

Lonely as I was when he left the squad to 
which we both had been assigned, the loneli- 
ness which I experience now that he is no 
longer is infinitely greater. Would th^t my 
grief might lessen yours, that of his beloved 
mother, and of all his other relatives. 

While waiting the hour of victory which 
he will see from the heights of a better world, 
an hour which urhappily will not strike before 



100 FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

having plunged many families into mourning, 
accept, dear Sir, once more the assurance of 
my very sincere participation in your terrible 
sorrow. 

You v^ho more than I speak v^ith God, be- 
cause of your vocation and ministry, pray foi: 
France and her children. 

H. R. 

On the same day the pastor, Benoit-Bergis, 
Chaplain of the Army Corps, sent us this mes- 
sage: 

*' The eve of the day when he had to ad- 
vance to the attack, instructed of the dangers 
he was going to run, your son had prayed with 
his Major and some others of his battalion. 
He asked God to guard them amidst the shot 
and shell and in the heat of action. 

" His prayer was heard otherwise than we 
could have desired; but may the faith which 
sustained him up to the end help you to endure 
without a murmur the will of our Heavenly 
Friend. And may so many sacrifices willingly 
offered and so many tears poured out for her 
render us still more devoted to our dear 
Patricr 



ON THE FIELD OF HONOR . 101 

One last comforting certainty zms granted 
lis: our child had not remained, as we at first 
had feared, for long hours and perhaps days 
in agony on the battlefield. The machine guns 
had moived him down in full charge, and death 
was instantaneous. 

When, at the price of great efforts, the 
bodies could be brought back and devoutly 
buried, they found in the pocket of his great- 
coat his will, written in a firm hand four days 
before the attack. It concludes as follows: 

" Know that at the moment of departure, 
looking steadfastly within, I believe that I can 
say without arrogance and also without false 
shame, that ' I have fought the good fight, I 
have finished the course, I have kept the faith ' 
and I would that all my friends, all those who 
are every moment with me and whose hearts 
beat with mine, could repeat the word of our 
hope: * Because I live, ye shall live also/ " 

A. E. Casalis. 
Roclincourt, May 5, 191 5. 

' Thus ended his short life upon this earth. 
But the impulse which carried him forward to 
the attack was not broken by the bullet which 



102 .FOR FRANCE AND THE FAITH 

laid his body low. He continued his course, 
the soldier boy, and went onward info the 
Paradise of God where he achieved his 
" Marche a VEtoile" 

Paris, January 15, 191 6. 



THE END 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: ...^ 295W 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



LIBRARY OF 



CONGRESS 





007(393 432 • 



